Can I treat my blepharitis at home?
Can I treat my blepharitis at home?
For some types of blepharitis, self-care at home may help soothe the symptoms. If you believe you have blepharitis, try these tips:
- Avoid eye makeup. To lessen irritation, you may want to avoid eye makeup until the infection is under control.
- Use warm compresses. Take a clean wash cloth and wet it with very warm water. Wring out excess water and place it over your eyelids and repeat as necessary to keep the cloth temperature constant. Eventually, the crusts will dampen and oily debris will be easier to wipe away.
- Clean the eyelids. While this may lead to more laundry to do, use a new clean cloth to wash each eyelid. This will help lessen any bacteria spread from one eye to the other.
- Mix a solution of 50% baby shampoo and 50% water.
- Place the warm, wet washcloth over your index finger and apply the soapy solution.
- Close the eye you are cleansing and rub the washcloth over the lashes and lid margins several times using horizontal strokes.
- Rinse thoroughly with a clean, warm wet washcloth.
- Repeat for other eye.
If several days of carefully cleaning your eyelids doesn’t curb the crusting, it’s time to see your eye care provider.